


before the next full moon

by aizensosuke



Series: the dreamers and the lovers [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Courtship, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, F/M, Kissing, Scent Marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 20:31:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17270636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aizensosuke/pseuds/aizensosuke
Summary: yoruichi makes an important decision, and urahara makes an interesting discovery.





	before the next full moon

**Author's Note:**

> this is a direct sequel to the fic that came before this one in the collection and is set in the past as well, before aizen's betrayal of the pack and before byakuya became alpha.

When Shihouin Yoruichi shows up on Urahara Kisuke’s doorstep with one arm loaded down with flowers, plucked from the trees and bushes and greenery in the forest surrounding their home, she does not expect the face on the other side of the door.

“Yoruichi.” Byakuya smiles benignly at her as he leans his shoulder against the edge of the doorway, eyeing the flowers in her arms with a knowing glint in his pale grey eyes. “My apologies, I was speaking to Urahara-san. Have you come here to visit him?”

The question makes something twitch in her temple but Yoruichi paints a smile onto her face and nods once, taking a step closer. “I’m surprised you have any time to visit considering how much time you’ve been spending with Hisana, Byakuya-bo.”

To her delight, the words have a slight flush appearing in Byakuya’s cheeks, his eyes narrowing at her just a touch. “I have plenty of time. You, on the other hand, seem to be very busy these days bringing all sorts of gifts and presents to this household. I’m impressed. I wasn’t aware you were civilized enough to consider proper courtship.”

From anyone else, it would have been an insult. From Byakuya, it makes Yoruichi laugh, and she frees up a hand to ruffle all of that long black hair. “You’re cute. I think Hisana might be changing you for the better. Do you want to let me by? I’m here to see my omega.”

“I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to let you know that people are talking, but that as the future alpha of the pack, I’m going to stand at your side.” Byakuya’s eyebrows twitch, and Yoruichi nods in understanding; the current alpha is not up to standard, not even close, but Byakuya is almost ready to challenge for the position. At the next full moon, most likely. “Do as you please, though do it kindly. Urahara-san is eccentric, but he seems soft.”

“You’d be surprised at just how soft,” Yoruichi tells him, and Byakuya hums at her.

As he walks by her, she darts out and smacks a kiss across his cheek, snickering when he immediately moves to wipe it away after giving her a look for it. That close, she can smell Hisana’s claiming scent on him, not as strong as an alpha’s would be but strong enough that her nose picks it up and tells her to stay away. If she tugged at the scarf around Byakuya’s throat, she’s sure it would be hiding a mating mark bitten into his skin and left to scar so that everyone knows he’s as good as married in human customs. Yoruichi, should she have her way, will leave a similar mark on Urahara before too long.

Walking into the house is an experience. The heavy scent of herbs both medicinal and culinary hits her nose first, followed by the slight burn of silver beneath. It affects werecats less fatally than werewolves, who can die from the poison after only a day or two if nothing is done about it. Werecats last longer; Urahara said it was something about the metabolic rates, about how their bodies drew out and processed poisons.

Yoruichi trusts him to know what he is doing, so she huffs the scent out of her nose and focuses on jasmine, tracking him through the house to his workshop room in the back.

The spce has the most windows and the most natural light, and all of them are open today to allow the sweet scents of spring to permeate the room on top of everything else. There are machines whirring in the space, some of them looking cobbled together from other machines, tied together with wires and cords. The hum of electricity in the room is loud.

Urahara sits at the largest work table against the far window, his back to her, his head bent over something in front of him. Of course, he turns around to face her when she steps into the room, tugging a pair of glasses off of his nose as he does.

He looks much older surrounded by his work, much more mature, but he has a boyish smile for her as she walks up to him to lay the flowers in his waiting arms.

“Ah, Yoruichi-san,” he says, and she purrs, pressing her cheek to the top of his head as she curls her arms around his shoulders. “I wasn’t expecting you to come by today.”

“It’s a surprise. I missed you.” When the pack did their run during the full moon, she usually took Sui-Feng and Yushiro up into the mountains into no man’s land to run on their own, not keen on keeping with the pack. “I didn’t mean to be gone so long.”

“Three days isn’t so long for you,” Urahara tells her, and Yoruichi hums as she kisses the top of his head, not wanting to ruminate on it.

Instead, she leans over and looks at what Urahara has been working on, and the burn of silver is more intense as she examines the bullets laid out in a small bowl next to his workspace. His work with silver is going to take their healing farther than it’s ever been before, so though people whisper about his strange behavior, Yoruichi stands by him. Should she ever be shot, she has a higher chance of surviving than the rest of them do, so they should be  _ grateful _ instead of gossipping behind people’s backs.

Sighing, she bites her tongue and picks up one of the bullets, careful as she can be. Simply having it touch skin is fine, only open wounds become a risk. “Where did you get these?”

“Ah, those.” Urahara is quiet, organizing the flowers, smiling when Yoruichi steals one to tuck behind his ear. “I found a hunter’s pistol not far from the edge of our territory.”

The words still Yoruichi. “Why would a pistol have been left lying there? That’s odd.”

“I think it was dropped rather than left behind,” Urahara explains, tilting his head back to look up at her. “You often skirt the edges of our territory and go into unclaimed land to run with your cats. Have you noticed any strange footsteps?”

Cocking her head, Yoruichi frowns. “Of course. But humans hike in these mountains, so I always wrote them off as being hikers or campers. Especially during the spring.”

“I think it might be more dire than that,” Urahara says, “but I don’t have proof right now. The odds of a gun being dropped are low, as they’re expensive and silver bullets aren’t necessarily easy to come by. Not the ones they use on us.”

Yoruichi knows that. Silver bullets can be found in the human world, but most of them aren’t very reliable, and the shot isn’t straight enough to be effective, so you lose more bullets than you can afford. Hunters use special bullets, and they are expensive, and losing an entire gun’s worth means something serious must have happened. Had someone in their pack come across a hunter and chased them off, neglecting to tell the rest of the pack? Or killed them? Or had a lone wolf found them instead?

There are too many possibilities, and their pack lives in unrest these days.

“I won’t be telling the alpha about this, and I hope you understand why.” At her nod, Urahara smiles. “But I trust you, of course. You’d never go behind my back and tell.”

“Of course not. Until we know more, it won’t do to have the entire pack in a panic.” And it isn’t like their alpha would do all that much about it unless they had solid evidence, lazy and useless fuck that he is. It makes her keenly miss Byakuya’s father, Sojun.

A soft set of footsteps on the flooring has Yoruichi lifting her head to see Aizen Sosuke stepping into the doorway, an apologetic expression instantly lighting his face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was asked to come over today, but I didn’t realize you were currently busy.”

“You’re fine,” Yoruichi assures him. “Unless you’ve come here to steal my omega.”

Despite being an alpha, Aizen is perhaps one of the most mild-mannered men Yoruichi has ever had the pleasure of meeting. Even his scent is mild, a basic foresty, musky scent that is pleasant even to her nose and not at all threatening despite the fact having another alpha in her soon-to-be mate’s territory should upset her. It helps that Aizen has never really shown an interest in anything other than science, that his smile is polite as he bows his head to her, nudging his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose.

“Sosuke here knows about the hunters,” Urahara says, and Yoruichi nods in understanding. “But this is limited to just the three of us and Byakuya.”

Aizen sits down in one of the empty chairs in the room, neatly crossing one leg over the other. “Indeed. I’ve run patrols in secret, but it’s very difficult in order to figure out who the footsteps I’ve found belong to, and there are no scents that would suggest we have hunters stalking the pack. I can smell silver, but it’s not enough to do anything with, and there are no concrete trails. So we’re working on diffusing the poison in silver as quickly as possible while we work on the antidote. If we can sufficiently decrease the level of poison in the bloodstream, we think the body can process out the rest and survive. It might leave a person weakened, but survival is key to this.”

“Exactly,” Urahara degrees, and he taps at the keyboard in front of him, pulling up what seems like half a dozen charts that Yoruichi leans over to read, eyes flicking over the information to take in as much of it as possible. “The concentration of the poison in these bullets is the main issue. So far, they haven’t been able to pump more in because from what I can see, the structure of the bullet itself would become unstable. It might fragment in the barrel, for instance. So we have a base level to work with. If we can create something to help diffuse the poison so the body can handle it, that should give us a bridge between having nothing at all and being able to neutralize it immediately.”

Yoruichi understands for the most part, draping herself over Urahara’s back once more. “Do you want me to leave you two alone so you can work? I can excuse myself.”

“Not at all.” Aizen stands once more. “I’ll come back later this evening. You two should have some time together considering you’ve just recently come back, Shihouin-san.”

“You’re a gentleman,” Yoruichi tells him, and Aizen smiles softly. “I’ll find you and let you know when I’ve left so you can take my place. Do you know where you might be?”

Aizen nods once. “I’ll be with Gin and Tousen, discussing the upcoming full moon. If Kuchiki-san is truly prepared to challenge our current alpha, then we will all stand in support of him and supply our power to him in order to make the transition smoother.”

“Good men,” Urahara says. “I’ll be seeing you this evening, then, Sosuke.”

As soon as Yoruichi hears the front door close quietly and Aizen’s footsteps dissipating as he walks away, she turns Urahara’s chair around and smoothly picks him up, laughing when he squeaks and throws his arms around her neck, his legs around her waist. To the untrained eye, he looks stronger than her. Broader, heavier, but her body is all muscle and his is soft and warm, full thighs and wide hips settling against her pelvis.

If they were mated, she could throw him down on his worktable. Instead, he turns and carries him from the room, aiming for the living room. “I’m glad he was so willing to come back at a later date. I want you all to myself right now.”

“You have me.” Urahara yelps when she tosses him onto the couch and climbs on top of him, dragging her cheek from his stomach up to his collarbones, the scent gland there ensuring everyone will know who he belongs to. “Oh, you must have really missed me.”

“You have no idea.” Yoruichi lies down on top of him, propped up on her forearms, fingers pushing the hair back off of his forehead so there’s nothing between her and his bright grey eyes, his soft lips. “I want to take you running with us next time.”

“Ah, but I’ve heard the cats are far too fast, which is why you run on your own,” he teases.

Yoruichi considers, bumping her nose against the side of his. “Maybe we can slow down for you. Sui-Feng might not like it, but she’ll deal with it if I tell her to.”

“Bossy,” Urahara compliments, and Yoruichi laughs as she licks a stripe up the side of his cheek, the tip of her tongue brushing over the stubble on his chin. “Maybe I’ll let you drag me along if it means you won’t be so desperate when you get back.”

“Desperate,” Yoruichi echoes. “I’m sure you didn’t miss me at  _ all, _ then, did you? Too busy.”

To her surprise, Urahara leans back to look up at her, and his gaze is serious as he meets her eyes. “I noticed when you didn’t come back to us that night,” he says, his voice pitched low and soft. “I noticed when you weren’t back the next morning. And I kept waiting, but I noticed. How could I not? When you’re not here, it’s so obvious.”

Yoruichi’s heart aches just a little and she tucks her nose just under his jaw, dragging it over his scent gland, taking in the sweet soft scent of jasmine to make sure he isn’t truly upset with her. “I’ll have you marked by the next full moon so you can go with us.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Urahara flashes her a grin, all teeth. “So why doesn’t Sui-Feng like me? I’ve picked up over the last few weeks that she’s not overly fond.”

“It’s a long story, but nothing to worry about. If I say you’re mine, she’ll treat you like you’re mine even if she’s occasionally snippy. Nothing overly cruel.” She’s been at least keeping her  _ flea-bitten mongrel _ comments to herself, or at least where none of the pack are in earshot these days, so that’s progress as far as Yoruichi is concerned.

Making it so all of them are happy in this situation is just impossible. Sui-Feng is a dear friend, someone who’s been following in her footsteps and learning from her ever since she and Yushiro found her alone in what was left of her former pride. They brought her with them, with nowhere else to take her, and maybe. Maybe she’s fallen for Yoruichi in that time, but it isn’t mutual, and Yoruichi could never hurt her by pretending it is.

Urahara nods, his hand coming up to settle on the back of her neck, fingers twining in her hair to hold her closer. “That’s good. I’m glad it won’t cause you too much trouble.”

“You never cause me trouble.” Yoruichi nips at his skin. “Kisuke, can I kiss you?”

The soft intake of breath sends a shiver down her spine and she leans up to look down at him once more, at his half-lidded eyes and his slightly parted lips, the color showing in his soft skin. “Of course you can,” he says, and his voice quakes just a little.

Such a question is still enough to affect him, and isn’t that a little exciting?

Yoruichi wraps her fingers around his wrists, keeping them pinned loosely above his head as she leans down to kiss him. His lips are pliant and yielding against her own, parting under the faintest pressure of her tongue, welcoming her in before she’s even taken the step forward to deepen the kiss. It makes her smile against his mouth and she purrs in satisfaction, swallowing his answering whimper before she slips her tongue into his mouth.

Now, he comes to life, his tongue curling around hers and soft noises spilling from his lips as she all but mauls his mouth with lips and teeth and tongue. Urahara lets her, arching his body up against hers, his thighs parting so she can settle between them and isn’t that just a little dangerous, the way he lets her settle in against his body. She could casually fuck him, she knows, but she wants to wait. To put the mating mark in his neck while she’s knotted inside of him, listening to him so sweetly keen her name.

By the time she manages to drag herself away from his side, the sun has long since set and it takes her a minute or two to find Aizen with his two usual cohorts, sending him toward Urahara’s house before excusing herself to her own deeper in the trees. She stretches on her front porch, eyes the claw marks on the trunks and thinks about freshening them up in the morning when she has the light to do so.

Yushiro looks up at her when she walks in the door, a pile of manga covering the only unused cushion. “You were gone a long time, and you stink of him.”

“Of course I do. I was all over him.” Yoruichi knocks him on the head on her way by, ignoring the way he hisses in her direction as she walks toward the kitchen. “Sui-Feng?”

“She went for a run around the perimeter, you know how it is,” Yushiro says, and she nods because yeah, she knows. Sui-Feng is upset with her. “When are you going to do it?”

Yoruichi debates in the doorway, then smiles at her little brother over her shoulder. “Before the next full moon. He’s going to come running with us. I hope you’re ready to have a brother-in-law.”

In answer, Yushiro sticks his tongue out at her. “Sounds like I don’t have a choice.”

**Author's Note:**

> i forgot yesterday was yoruichi's birthday because i totally spaced on the fact she and kisuke have their birthdays back to back (i see u, bleach)
> 
> so happy birthday to our favorite cat shapeshifter whose lightning power is out of this world, who doesn't even need a zanpakuto to be one of the most deadly fighters in the entire series. thank you for being a great mentor, a fun character, and having such a buoyant and exciting personality. you're one of my favorite ladies of all time.


End file.
